Warring Factions Within Lebanon and Regional Conflicts Make Peace Impossible

Clan warfare between various religious groups
in Lebanon goes back centuries. The combatants include Maronite
Christians, who, since independence, have dominated the government; Sunni
Muslims, who have prospered in business and shared political power; the
Druze, who have a faith incorporating aspects of Islam and Gnosticism; and
Shiite Muslims.

A new—and bloodier—Lebanese civil
war that broke out in 1975 resulted in the addition of still another
ingredient in the brew, the Syrians. In the fighting between Lebanese
factions, 40,000 Lebanese were estimated to have been killed and 100,000
wounded between March 1975 and Nov. 1976. At that point, Syrian troops
intervened at the request of the Lebanese and brought large-scale fighting
to a halt. In 1977, the civil war again flared and continued until 1990,
decimating the country.

Palestinian guerrillas staging raids on Israel
from Lebanese territory drew punitive Israeli raids on Lebanon and two
large scale Israeli invasions, in 1978 and again in 1982. In the first
invasion, the Israelis entered the country in March 1978 and withdrew that
June, after the UN Security Council created a 6,000-man peacekeeping force
for the area called UNIFIL. As the UN departed, the Israelis turned their
strongholds over to a Christian militia that they had organized, instead
of to the UN force.